Founded in 1961, WWF has grown to become the world’s leading independent conservation organisation, with its mission to create a world where wildlife and people can thrive together. WWF-UK is a key national organisation within the WWF international family, whose secretariat is based in Switzerland and which has primary offices and associates in over 40 countries around the world. Our famous black and white panda logo has come to stand as a universal symbol for the conservation movement as a whole across the globe.
This is, without doubt, a time of unprecedented threats to our planet: global wildlife populations have declined by over two thirds in less than 50 years, in 2022 the world lost an area of primary tropical rainforest over twice the size of Wales, and here at home the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. Hugely significant geopolitical, economic and social shifts provide a complex and evolving context to these urgent challenges.
However, against this challenging backdrop enormous opportunities exist, and at WWF, we are positioned to play a pivotal role. At national level we were instrumental in the previous government committing to make the UK the world’s first net zero financial centre, sat on HMT’s Transition Plan Taskforce that translated that commitment into firm recommendations and helped secure a pledge from the new administration to make those plans mandatory for major businesses. Our campaigning has secured due diligence legislation in the UK to remove illegal deforestation from supply chains and we are now making the case for a landmark framework law that will address the climate, nature and food security challenge in an integrated way.
We are working with WWF offices in Latin America to drive for ambitious commitments on deforestation and other areas from the upcoming 2025 Climate Summit in Brazil and with colleagues in Kenya and Tanzania to preserve the landscape that straddles those countries’ borders and is home to one of the world’s last great mammal migrations.
In the coming years our focus will be on improving our already excellent advocacy to governments and businesses and building mass brand-led public engagement in the UK to make nature and climate mainstream issues in public debate and drive action in communities across the country.
In everything we do, we will maintain the trust and confidence of the people we work with. We will always respect human rights and work closely with indigenous people and local communities – who are often the most successful stewards and protectors of the natural world we seek to restore – through our partnerships with WWF offices around the world.